Gun control supporters, including Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero who was in Washington D.C. for the announcement, praised the president.

Most of the scrutiny centered on the call for universal criminal background checks for all firearms purchases and to reinstate a ban on "military-style" assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

On background checks, “The devil is really in the details,” said Steve Dulan, a director of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. “If it leads to a federal registry of gun owners and their guns, I can say we’d certainly be opposed.”

Similarly, Dulan wants to know exactly how “so-called assault rifles” are being defined.

“There are 3 million to 4 million AR-15s in the nation,” Dulan said of the weapon first designed for the military. “But there are way in excess of more than 100 million semi-automatic rifles. How do you define an assault weapon– by appearance?”

In calling for universal background checks, Obama said buyers in as many as 40 percent of firearms sales elude background scrutiny, for example through private transactions at gun shows or between acquaintances.

Michigan law requires background checks for anyone buying from a federally licensed firearms dealer. The same is true for handguns sold in private transactions at gun shows, but not for long guns.

“The assault-weapon ban is more political pandering to act like something is being done to prevent crime when that is not really the case,” said Rob Harris, spokesman for Michigan Open Carry Inc., which advocates for openly worn firearms.

“The bottom line is there are already upwards of 300 million guns in this country and I don’t know how a law going forward makes all those guns disappear.”

He said the president “glossed over” the root problem of mass slayings – mental illness – and instead is misdirecting his efforts at lawful gun owners, including the call to limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.

“Adam Lanza had an AR-15 – a gun that he killed to get. If he had multiple 10-round magazines, are those kids any less dead because he reloaded his gun multiple times?” Harris said of the 20-year-old shooter in last month’s Newtown, Conn., massacre.

Gun-control advocates lauded the president.

“We strongly support President Obama’s proposals to implement common-sense policies that will help prevent gun violence and keep our communities safe,” said Zack Pohl, executive director of Progress Michigan, in a prepared statement.

“Support for the Second Amendment goes hand in hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people. Our leaders in Lansing and Washington must act now to make it harder for criminals to buy guns, and easier for police and prosecutors to stop them.”

Bernero, a member of the national group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was in Washington, D.C. with other members to rally support for the president’s proposed reforms.

“He’s with 60 other mayors from around the country pounding the pavement on the Hill, building support. He is right in the thick of it at this moment,” chief of staff Randy Hannan said.

In a prepared statement, Bernero said, “Requiring background checks for all firearm sales is absolutely critical to stemming the tide of illegal guns in the hands of criminals.”

Bernero did not think the president ignored the mental health issue. The president also signed 23 executive orders – which do not require congressional approval – ranging from addressing mental health issues to federal research on gun crime.

“I am also very pleased with the President’s call for a national dialogue on mental health, which must expand beyond today’s debate about gun violence and lay the groundwork for real reforms that will finally help people with mental illness access the services they need,” Bernero said in his statement